Window construction



WINDOW CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 9, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 a Bib 7 lllb2:34-52 24 9 7s 87 10M 4| gl INVENTOR.

ATTOPMFVS MAPS/MM M mom/(2 I Feb. 20, 1968 M. v. NOECKER 3,369,326

WINDOW CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet t Filed Dec. 9, 1964 MIC INVENTOR.M/i/QSHALL 1/ NOE/(9 United States Patent 3,369,326 WINDOW CONSTRUCTIONMarshall V. Noecker, Grosse Pointe,-Mich., assignor to Kaufmann Windowand Door Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan FiledDec. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 417,192 3 Claims. (Cl. 49450) This inventionrelates to a sliding window construction and, more particularly, relatesto a combination window construction including improved means forguiding the vertical sliding motion of glass and screened closure panelsand for latching the closure panels in partially open or closedpositions.

A relatively large number of individual firms are engaged in producingaluminum combination screen and storm windows and the industry is ahighly competitive one in which a product improvement, even of arelatively minor nature, may result in a substantial improvement in afirms competitive position.

A relatively large proportion of the public is familiar with such windowconstructions on the basis of day-to-day use. Moreover, many of thesecombination window constructions are bought by home owners who will beusing them. Thus, the purchasers of such windows often have a personalinterest in certain characteristics of such window constructions and areoften attracted by combination constructions which are, for example, lowin initial cost, which provide for easy cleaning and operation and whichpromise to be serviceable over long periods of time without repair. Inrecognition of the nature of the market, therefore, an abundant andcontinuing flow of new constructions are evolved by the manymanufacturers in the industry. It has thus been as a result of acontinuing effort to improve the product that the present invention wasdeveloped.

Accordingly, the objects of this invention include:

(1) To provide a combination window construction in which severalclosure panels, such as storm windows and/or screens, are arranged forsliding in upstanding guideways in a window frame and in which theclosure panels may be readily removed from the window frame for cleaningor the like.

(2) To provide a window construction, as aforesaid, in which the windowframe is constructed of elongated extrusions and in which the number ofdiscontinuities required in the cross section of such extrusions isminimized to reduce machining costs and to improve the life expectancyof the frame.

(3) To provide a window construction, as aforesaid, in which a notchedbar is disposed in at least one of the guideways, the notches of saidbar being arranged for alternative engagement by a latching member onthe adjacent closure panel for maintaining the storm window or screen ina partially open and closed position.

(4) To provide a window construction, as aforesaid, in which thematerial of the latching member and notched bar differs from the windowframe for providing superior frictional and wear properties and in whichthe bar is held in place without the use of extra fasteners or the like.

(5) To provide a window construction, as aforesaid, in which a bracketused to fasten the bottom element and adjacent stile of a closure panelalso retains the latch member on the closure panel when the closurepanel is removed from the window frame.

(6) To provide a window construction, as aforesaid, which is capable ofsmooth latching and sliding operation, which is sturdily constructed fora long service life and which, moreover, introduces significanteconomies into the latching and the guiding portions of the device.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will be apparent to personsacquainted with an apparatus of this general type upon reading thefollowing specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 in an interior elevational view of a window constructionembodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged section substantially taken along the line II-IIof FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view substantially taken on the lineIII-III of FIGURE 1 with a screened closure panel added thereto.

FIGURE 4 is a partially broken, enlarged and fragmentary oblique view ofthe upper corner of one of the closure panels of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view substantially as taken on theline V-V of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view substantially astaken on the line VI-VI of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged sectional view substantially as taken on theline VII-VII of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged oblique view of the rightward latching member ofFIGURE 1.

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged sectional view substantially as taken on theline IX-IX of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 10 is an oblique view of the notched bar shown in cross sectionin FIGURE 5.

Certain terminology will be used in the following description forconvenience in reference only and will not be limiting. The wordsupwardly, downwardly, rightwardly and leftwardly will designatedirections in the drawings to which reference is made. The wordsinterior and exterior will refer to the normally interior and exteriorsides, respectively, of the window construction, those being the rightand left sides thereof as appearing in FIGURE 2. The words inwardly andoutwardly will refer to the directions toward and away from,respectively, the geometric center of the construction and designatedparts thereof. Said terminology will include the words specificallymentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.

General description In general, the objects and purposes of theinvention are met by providing a window construction which includes afixed window frame defining a spaced, substantially vertical pair ofguideways along which a panel-like closure member, such as a screen orstorm window, may slide. An. elongated bar is longitudinally alignedwith and disposed within at least one of the guideways and has aplurality of notches spaced along the inner edge thereof. A latch memberis slideable along the lower edge of the closure member for releasablyengaging the notches on the bar to control the latching of the closuremember.

Detailed description The combination window construction 10 (FIGURES 1and 2) embodying the invention includes a frame 11 which includessubstantially parallel top and bottom members 12 and 13 connected by aspaced parallel pair of preferably upstanding jambs 16 and 17. In theparticular embodiment shown, the window construction 10 comprises acombination storm and screen. unit attached by screws 24 to a windowcasing 20 on a building. The window casing 20 here comprises upper andlower frame pieces 18 and 19 and side frame pieces 21 and 22. In theparticular embodiment shown, a spacer sheet 23 is disposed between thebottom member 13 of the frame 11 and the lower piece 19 of the casing20.

The top and bottom members 12 and 13 and jambs 16 and 17 of the frame 11are preferably of substantially identical cross section and, in theembodiment shown, are aluminum extrusions. Each member of the frame 11,

for example, the jamb 17 has a wall 26 (FIGURE 3) which comprises spacedexterior and interior portions 27 and 28 perpendicular to the plane ofthe window frame and integrally connected by an angularly disposedcentral portion 29. The exterior portion 27 lies inwardly of theinterior portion 28 along the plane of the window frame. A mountingflange 31 extends outwardly along the plane of the window constructionfrom the interior edge of the wall 26 for connection to the casing 20.The corresponding mounting flanges 31a and 31]) (FIGURE 2) of the topand bottom members 12 and 13 may be used in mounting same as abovementioned with respect to the upper frame piece 18 and spacer sheet 23.Inwardly opening grooves 32, 33 and 34 are provided on the inner facesof the portions 27, 28 and 29, respectively, of the wall 26. The grooves32, 33 and 34 are preferably identical and extend through more than 180of a circle. The ends of the grooves 32 and 33, in the presentembodim'ent, receive the threaded ends of sheet metal screws 36 (FIGURE2) for fastening the top and bottom members 12 and 13 to the jambs 16and 17.

In the particular embodiment shown, the window construction 18 is of thetriple track type capable of support ing three closure members forsliding motion along three separate spaced sets of guideways although itwill be apparent that at least the broader aspects of the invention arenot limited to such window type.

Parallel guide walls 37, 38, 39 and 41 are integral with and extendinwardly from the wall 26, the inner edges of said guide walls beingsuccessively outwardly spaced. The guide wall 37 is located at theexterior edge of the forward portion 27 adjacent the groove 32, theguide wall 38 is located at the joint of the portions 27 and 29 and thewalls 39 and 41 are located adjacent the rearward portion of the grooves34 and 33, respectively. Thus, the walls 37, 38, 39 and 41 definetherebetween respective channels or guideways 42, 43 and 44. The innerends of the guide walls 38, 39 and 41 are flanged toward the interorside of the frame 11 for abutting and guiding the outer edge of adjacentclosure members hereinafter described associated with each of thechannels 42, 43 and 44. Flanges 51 and 52 extend from the exterior sidesof the guide walls 38 and 41 intermediate the ends thereof. Weather sealelements 53 and 54 are disposed in suitable re-arwardly facing groovesin the guide walls 37 and 38 adjacent the outer ends thereof for sealingagainst the exterior surfaces of the exterior pair of members,hereinafter described.

An elongated, substantially rectangular latching bar 61 (FIGURE 10)includes a preferably integral semicircular bead 62 defining onelongitudinal edge thereof which fits snugly within the groove 34 in thejamb 17 (FIGURE The bar 61 extends inwardly from the groove 34 along andin contact with the guide wall 39 to an intermediate point thereon.Pivotal motion of the bar 61 about the axis of the bead 62 is preventedby snug engagement thereof by the mouth of the groove 34. The normallyinner edge 63 (FIGURE of the bar 61 is provided with a spaced pluralityof triangular, preferably identical notches 64 which terminate adjacentthe bead 62. Each notch 64 has a substantially horizontal lower edge 66and an upper edge 67 which slopes upwardly away therefrom toward theedge 63. The bottom end of the bar 61 defines a downwardly facing andsubstantially horizontal shoulder 68 beyond which the lower end 69 ofthe head 62 extends. The bar 61 is preferably manufactured of a longwearing material having a relatively low coefficient of friction and inthe present embodiment is of molded plastic. The bar 61 (FIGURES 5 and6) is normally installed on the jamb 17, before said jamb is affixed tothe bottom member 13, by sliding the bead 62 thereof longitudinallyalong the groove 34. After the window frame 11 is assembled, the lowerbead end 69 rests upon the bottom member 13. The upper end of the bar 61is preferably located at or slightly below the bottom edge of theadjacent raised closure member. An identical latching bar, not shown, ispreferably similarly disposed on the jamb 16. The groove 34 ispreferably upset just above the bar 61 to prevent unintended upwardmovement thereof.

Closure members 76, 77 and 78 (FIGURES 3 and 5) are slideably andremoveably disposed in the frame 11 at the channels 42, 43 and 44,respectively. In the particular embodiment shown, the closure members 76and 77 are storm windows while the closure member 78 is screened. Theclosure members 76, 77 and 78 may be positioned, for example, to totallyglaze the opening of the window frame 11 or alternatively to partiallyglaze and partially screen said opening to provide ventilation in asubstantially conventional manner. In the following description, partsof the closure members 76 and 78 will be referred to by the samereference numerals as corresponding parts of the closure member 77 withthe suffixes a and b, respectively, added thereto. The closure member 77(FIGURE 1) includes top and bottom elements 81 and 82, connected byupstanding stiles 83 and 84 all of which are preferably of extrudedaluminum and have substantially the same cross section, the majorexception being that the bottom element 82 carries additional integralportions hereinafter described. The closure members 76 and 78 areprovided with corresponding parts. Each of the corresponding parts ofthe screen 78, for example, the stile 84b (FIGURE 3), carries arectangular groove 86 on the exterior face thereof in which is disposedan elongated resilient element 87 for bolding the edge of a sheet ofscreening material 88. On the other hand, each of the storm windowpanels 76 and 77, for example, the panel 77 (FIGURE 5) has an inwardlyopening groove 91 along the inner edge of its elements 81 and 82 andstiles 83 and 84, here shown with respect to the stile 84, which isresiliently lined for snug reception of the edge of a sheet of glass 92.

Since in further details of their construction, the closure members 76,77 and 78 are substantially identical, only one thereof, the closuremember 77, need be described. The outer edge of the top member 81 andthe stiles 83 and 84 each carry an undercut substantially T-shaped Slot94 (FIGURES 5 and 6) which extends longitudinally therealong. The bottomelement 82 (FIGURES 6 and 9) has a preferably identical but downwardlyfacing slot 96. However, the exterior wall 97 of the bottom elements 82extends downwardly past the slot 96. A flange 98 integral with the lowerend of the wall 97 extends therefrom toward the interior of thebuilding. A fin 99 is integral with and depends from the flange 98intermediate the edges thereof. The lower portion of the exterior wall97 and the flange 98 define a substantially rectangular latch groove 102open on the interior side thereof which communicates at its upper endwith the substantially T- shaped slot 96 through the narrow leg portion103 thereof.

The ends of the elements 81 and 82 and the stiles 83 and 84 are miteredso that the ends of the slots 94 and 96 communicate. The stiles 83 and84 are joined to the upper element 81 by upper corner brackets 106 andto the bottom element 82 by lower corner brackets 107. The upper cornerbrackets 106 (FIGURE 4) each comprises a substantially L-shaped member,preferably of a suitable substantially rigid plastic, having legs 108and 189 fully insertable into the ends of the slots 94 of, for example,the element 81 and stile 84, respectively. The side walls of the slots94 may then be punched to securely grip the legs of the upper bracket106. A fin 111 integral with the bracket 106 extends upwardly andoutwardly from the corner portion and beyond the edges of the element 81and stile 84. The portion of the fin 111 above the element 81 issubstantially rectangular and the outer end thereof extends beyond thestile 84 to define a pivot portion 112. The rightward end of the fin 111below the portion 112 extends rightwardly to the narrow portion of theslot 94 and the stile 84. A substantially rectangular slide plate 114 issupported snugly against the outer edge surface of the stile 84 adjacentthe upper end thereof by integral connection through the lower part ofthe fin 111 to the leg 109.

The closure members 76, 77 and 78 are disposed in their respectivechannels 42, 43 and 44 in substantially the same way and a descriptionof one thereof will serve for all. FIGURE 3 illustrates the positioningof the pivot portion 112]) and slide plate 11417 of the screen 78, forexample, with the opposed portions of the jamb 17 when said screen 78 isinstalled in the window construction 10. Here, the exterior face of thestile 84b bears against the interior edge of the flanged inner end ofthe guide wall 39, the slide plate 114b bears against the inner edge ofthe guide wall 41 and the pivot portion 112 is disposed between theguide walls 39 and 41 for preventing translation of the screen 78 out ofthe interior side of the frame 11 when the screen is in its slidingposition. It will be noted that the pivot portion 112]) does notinterfere with the flange 52. Similarly, FIGURE 2 illustrates thepositioning of the upstanding fin 111a on the storm window 76, here forexample, the fin 111a extends upwardly past the lower end of the guidewall 38 of the top member 12 to provide additional resistance tomovement of said window 76 out of the interior side of the frame 11 whensaid window is in its upwardmost position.

The lower corner brackets 107 (FIGURE 6) are substantially similar tothe upper corner brackets 106 above described except that the portion ofthe fin 111 which extends vertically of the leg 108 and includes thepivot portion 112 has no corresponding part in the brackets 107. Thus,the rightward corner bracket 107 (FIGURE 6), for example, has horizontaland vertical legs 118 and 119 disposed in the slots 96 and 94,respectively, of the bottom element 82 and stile 84, respectively, and aslide plate 124 vertically aligned with the above-mentioned slide plate114 adjacent the outer edge of the stile 84 and connected to thevertical leg 119 by a narrow lock 123. Since the latching bar 61 doesnot participate in guiding the closure member 77 along the jambs 16 and17, substantially no loads are placed thereon transverse to the plane ofthe window construction as are imposed on the guide walls 37, 38, 39 and41.

Each of the closure members 76, 77 and 78 includes a pair of latchingmembers and since said closure members are preferably identical in thisregard, only the latching members of the closure member 77 need bedescribed in detail. The closure member 77 thus has a pair of elongatedlatching members 126 and 127 (FIGURE 1) at opposite ends of the groove102. Since the latching members 126 and 127 are preferably mirror imagesof each other, a description of the latching member 127 will suffice forboth. The latching member 127 (FIGURES 6, 7, 8 and 9) comprisessubstantially rectangular inner and outer body parts 128 and 129 whichare slideably but snugly disposed within the groove 102. The body pa s128 and 129 are longitudinally spaced to define a finger opening 131into which the finger of the user may be inserted to slide the latchingmember 127 inwardly along the groove 102. The finger opening 131, inextending through the full thickness of the latching member 127,provides the maximum possible depth and, hence, minimizes any tendencyfor the users fingers to slip out therefrom. The body parts 128 and 129may, if desired, be recessed along the exterior side thereof asindicated at 132 and 133 (FIGURE 8). An upstanding ridge 134 ofsubstantially T-shaped cross section (FIGURES 6 and 9) connects and ispreferably integral with the upper surfaces of the body parts 128 and129. The ridge 134 is snugly and slideably disposed within the slot 96.The maximum thickness of the ridge 134 is greater than the width of theouter portion 103 of the slot 96. Since the ridge 134 cannot thereforemove downwardly out of the slot 96, the latching member 127 cannot movetransversely out of the groove 102. The latch member 127 is installed onthe closure members 77 by sliding same into the rightward ends of thegroove 102 and slot 96 prior to installation of the corner bracket 107.An upstanding guide fin 136 is preferably integral with the uppersurface of the outer body part 129 at a point outwardly spaced from theend of the ridge 134 and snugly but slideably extends upwardly into thenarrow portion 103 of the slot 96 to maintain the outer end of the bodypart 129 in alignment with the groove 102.

A helical compression spring 138 lies in the slot 96 (FIGURES 6 and 7)between a tape 139 upset into the slot 96 from the interior wall thereofand a knot 137 on the inner end of the ridge 134 for urging the latchmember 127 outwardly along the groove 102. Interference be tween theridge 134 and the adjacent inner end of the horizontal leg 118 of thecorner bracket 107 limits the maximum outward movement of the latchmember 127.

The rightward end of the body part 129 terminates in a stepped nose 141(FIGURES 5, 6 and 8). The nose 141 is of lesser thickness than the bodypart 129, the interior surfaces thereof being displaced to define anoutwardly facing, substantially vertical shoulder 143 at the boundarytherebetween. The bottom edge 144 of the nose 141 is a horizontalextension of that of the body part 129. The upper edge of the nose 141is downwardly stepped through a riser surface 148 at a point outwardlyspaced from the shoulder 143 to define an upwardly facing and preferablyhorizontal lock surface 146. The outer edge 147'of the nose 141 slopesupwardly and inwardly from the bottom edge 144 preferably at the sameslope as the upper edge 67 of the notches 64 on the bar 61, hereapproximately 60. The riser 148 may be similarly sloped if desired. Theouter edge 147 is shorter than the upper edge 67 of the notches 64. Thelatching member 127 preferably comprises a monolithic piece of asubstantially rigid plastic or other suitable long wearing materialhaving a relatively low co-efiicient of friction.

Should the latching member 126 be provided with a latching barcorresponding to the latching bar 61, it will beunderstood that themember 126 will be activated and will react in substantially the samemanner as the member 127 and, hence, discussion of the operation of themember 127 will suffice for both. Thus, when the closure mem ber 77 isat its lowest point in the frame 11 (FIGURES l, 2 and 6), the locksurface 146 (FIGURE 6) of the latching member 127 lies below theshoulder 68 on the bar 61 which prevents upward movement of the closuremember 77. The closure member 77 is thus locked in position and cannotbe opened from the exterior side thereof. The closure member 77 may beraised after moving the latch member 127 inwardly sufliciently that thelock surface 146 no longer interferes with the bar step 68. Whereafterfurther inward movement of the latching member 127 may be accomplishedeither by continued direct manual actuation thereof or by cammedactuation of the outer nose edge 147 as it slides upwardly along theinner end of the shoulder 68. After the latching member 127 has beenfreed at the shoulder 68, direct manual actuation of the latching member127 is no longer required during raising of the closure member 77. Asthe rising latch member 127 reaches a notch 64, the spring 138 willimpel the nose 141 of said member into said notch as indicated in brokenlines at 1410 in FIGURE 6. If desired, the closure member 77 may be leftat such position with the lower edge 66 of the notch 64 supporting thebottom edge of the nose 141 to prevent downward movement of the closuremember 77 due to gravity. On the other hand, upward movement of theclosure member 77 may be continued past one or more of the notches 64without attention to the latching member 127, the upwardly moving noseedge 147 sliding against the upper edge 67 of each succeeding notch tocam the latching member 127 inwardly. As the closure member 77approaches its uppermost position, as determined by interference thereofwith the top frame member 12, the latching member 127 vertically passesthe upper end of the bar 61 and hence is no longer outwardly limitedthereby. Thus, the spring 38 moves the latching member 127 outwardlysufiiciently that the bottom edge of the nose 141 rests on top of theupper end of the bar 61, as indicated in broken lineS at 141d in FIGURE6, thus preventing unintended downward movement of the closure member77.

In the present embodiment, the flange 52 (FIGURE 2) on the jamb 17 isslotted near the lower end thereof and intermediate the ends thereof asindicated at 151 and 152, respectively, for reception of a latchingmember, not shown, on the screen 78, corresponding to the abovementionedmember 127 to allow the screen 78 to be locked either in its uppermostor lowermost position. Although additional slots can be provided forproviding intermediate positions of the screen such usually is notnecessary and moreover such slots are relatively diflicult and expensiveto produce due to the relatively inaccessible position of the flange 52within the channel 44. It Will be apparent that a plurality of slotswould be disadvantageous to provide as compared to the notched bar 61for the closure member 77. The closure member 76 may be locked in itsnormal uppermost position shown in FIGURE 2 by means of the latchingmember 127a thereof and a suitable slot, not shown, in the flange 51comparable to the slot 152.

In the present embodiment of the invention, interlocking flanges areprovided on the normally adjacent edges of adjacent closure membersnormally disposed at opposite vertical ends of the frame 11 to improvethe weather seal between such edges by preventing separation thereoftransverse to the plane of the frame 11. Thus, the interior face of thebottom element 82a of the normally upper member 76 is provided with anupturned, substantially L-shaped flange 153 (FIGURE 9) which isengageable by a corresponding downward turned flange 154 (FIGURE 2) onthe exterior face of the top element 81 of the closure member 77.

It is contemplated that, if desired, a bar corresponding to the bar 61might be placed in the groove 33 upon the deletion of the flange 52, thelatching members of the screen 78 thus interacting with said bar in amanner d scribed with respect to the latching member 127 and bar 61 toallow the screen 78 to be adjusted to several stable positionsintermediate the ends of its travel.

Operation Although the operation of the window construction embodyingthe invention has been substantially indicated hereinabove, the broaderaspects thereof will be reviewed to insure a complete understanding ofits operation. When the Window construction 10 is used as a stormwindow, the exterior closure member 76 is normally disposed in itsuppermost position as in FIGURE 2 and the intermediate closure member 77is locked in its lowermost position to provide complete closure of thewindow opening in a substantially conventional manner. Similarly, thescreen 78 may be positioned at either end of its travel and the opposedone of the members 76 and 77 may be opened to the extent desired as toprovide ventillation in a substantially conventional manner. Moreover,the closure members when at the limits of their travel cannot be openedfrom the exterior side of the window construction.

Each of the closure members, for example, the member 77 is held againstinterior movement by interference of the pivot portion 112 of each ofthe upper corner brackets 106 thereof and of the nose 141 of each of thelatching members 126 and 127 thereof with the guide wall 39 of the jambs16 and 17. When in its oppermost position, each of the members 76, 77and 78, for example, the member 76, is further prevented from interiormovement by interference of the upper ends of the fins 111a or the uppercorner brackets 106a thereof with the adjacent guide wall of the topmember 12. When in its lowermost position, each of the members 76, 77and 78, for example, the closure member 77, is prevented from interiormovement by interference between the depending fin 99 thereof with theadjacent guide wall of the bottom frame member 13.

The closure member 77, as well as the other members 76 and 78, may beopened from its closed position of FIGURE 2 upon release of the latchingmember 127 (and the member 126 if provided with a latching barcorresponding to the bar 61) and may be thereafter stopped at any of therelatively large number of intermediate positions or in its uppermostposition as determined by interaction of the latching member 127 withthe notched bar 61 as hereinabove described.

The closure members 78, 77 and 76, in that sequence, may be readilyremoved from the frame 11 all in the same manner. The closure member 77may be removed from the frame 11 by moving the latching members 126 and127 inwardly sufficiently that they clear the corresponding rearwardlyadjacent guide walls of the jambs 16 and 17. Thereafter, the bottomelement 82 of the closure member 77 may be pivoted through and past theinterior side of the frame 11 about the common axis of the pivotportions 112. Finally, the closure member 77 may be pivoted to move oneof the pivot portions 112 upwardly and the other pivot portion 112downwardly to release same from the jambs 16 and 17.

The closure member 77 may be replaced in the frame 11 by reversing theabove steps.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has beendisclosed above for illustrative purposes, it will be understood thatvariations or modifications thereof which lie within the scope of theappended claims are fully contemplated.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a window construction in which a closure member is disposed forsubstantially vertical sliding movement; a pair of fixed upstandingjambs along which said closure member may be moved; a semicirculargroove closed through an arc of more than said groove opening inwardlyof said window construction and extending longitudinally along at leastone of said jambs; an elongated bar of rigid plastic having asemicircular bead along one longitudinal edge which is snugly disposedin one of said grooves for maintaining said bar upright and fixed withrespect to said jamb, said bar having a plurality of substantiallyV-shaped notches spaced along the other longitudinal edge thereof, saidnotches having a substantially horizontal lower edge and a divergentlysloped upper edge, the lower end of said bar forming a downwardly facingshoulder which is substantially the depth of said notches and downwardlypast which said bead extends; means on said closure member engageablewith said bar to regulate movement thereof, said means comprising atleast one rigid plastic latch member supported on said closure member,said latch member having a nose resiliently urged for extending fromsaid closure member toward said bar and releasably engageable with saidjamb to prevent interiorwise movement of said closure member, said nosebeing reduced in thickness transversely of the' plane of said closuremember, the outer end of said nose having an upwardly facing locksurface stepped vertically below the upper face of the rest of saidlatch member and adapted for engagement with and beneath said shoulderon said bar to lock the closure panel in a closed position said locksurface being capable of partially entering said notches, the outer endof said nose terminating in the downwardly and outwardly sloped rampshaped similarly to said notches but of lesser depth and adapted forentry fully thereinto whereby said ramp allows said notches to cam saidlatch member out of engagement therewith on raising said closure member,the reduced height of said lock surface allows locking of said latchmember against said shoulder and the unreduced height of the innerportion of said nose provides greater area of contact with said jamb forresisting interiorly directed forces on the closure member.

2. In a window construction including a closure member, the combinationcomprising: a bottom rail in said closure member, the interior face ofwhich bottom rail bears a rectangular latch groove which communicates atits upper end with a downwardly opening slot, said rail having opposedflanges at the interface between said slot and said groove to restrictthe size of the opening therebetween; a stile upstanding from saidbottom rail and having an outwardly opening slot; a substantiallyL-shaped corner brace having a leg disposed in and fixed with respect toeach of said slots at the adjacent ends thereof; a rigid nonmetalliclatch member disposed in and slidable along said latch groove, saidlatch member having a T-shaped ridge extending upwardly into saiddownwardly opening slot so as to be snugly and slidably disposedtherewithin, the opposed flanges of said rail member extending beneaththe head of the T-shaped ridge for locking the latch member within therail; a compression spring in said slot having one end thereof fixedwith respect to said closure member and the other end thereof bearing onsaid ridge, said ridge being located between said spring and said cornerbrace; whereby said spring urges said latch member outwardly along saidgroove and said corner brace limits the extent to which said latchmember moves in response to such urging, said latch member includingfirst and second rectangular portions respectively having planar upperand lower external surfaces slidably received in and each bearingagainst the opposed surface of the latch groove, said first and secondportions being laterally spaced from each other to define a hand openingtherebetween, said first and second portions being contained within thecross section of said groove and extending the full depth of said grooveto maximize the depth of said hand opening, opposite ends of saidT-shaped ridge being integrally connected with the upper surfaces ofsaid first and second portions for rigidly connecting same, the end ofsaid first portion remotely located from said second portion extendablelongitudinally from said groove and defining a nose engageable with afixed, opposed rack for locking said closure member said first portionbeing further formed with a guide rib centered on the upper surfacethereof adjacent said nose and in spaced relation to said T-shaped ridgeand extending between opposed flanges of the rail member for guiding thenose end of the latch member along said groove.

3. In a window construction including a closure member disposed forsubstantially vertical sliding movement, the combination comprising:

a lower frame element and fixed jamb upstanding therefrom and alongwhich said closure member may be ,moved, said jamb including interiorand exterior walls, an interiorly extending flange at the inner end saidinterior wall opposed to said closure member, ridges extending from saidinterior wall defining a semicircular groove tangent to said interiorwall and opening toward said closure member;

a flat, elongated bar of rectangular cross section disposed between saidinterior and exterior walls, the width of the interior side face of saidbar snugly abutting said interior wall to positively locate said baragainst interiorwise movement, said bar having opposed longitudinalgrooves in the flat side faces thereof and a rounded outer edge whichdefine a semicircular bead snugly but slidably receivable in saidsemicrcular groove in said jamb, said ridges entering snugly into saidopposed grooves to prevent said bar from pivoting on the axis of saidhead in an exterior direction, a plurality of V-shaped notches spacedalong the inner edge of said bar and opposing said closure member, saidnotches having horizontal lower reaches and upwardly and inwardlysloped, linear upper reaches extending from said lower reaches, the apexof said notches being located at said opposed grooves in said sidewalls, the bottom portion of said bar below said notches being omittedto define a downwardly facing shoulder, said bar being verticallysupported by the lower end of said semicircular bead on said lower frameelement;

a U-shaped, interiorly opening latch groove extending along the bottomof said closure member, said latch groove opening through the side edgeof said closure member in opposition to said interiorly extending flangeand said notched bar, and means defining a slot directly above saidlatch groove;

a latch member having rectangular inner and outer portions spaced alongsaid latch groove for receiving fingers of an operator therebetween,said outer portion of said latch member including a nose portion forcoaction with said notched bar, the interior face of said nose portionparalleling the interior face of said inner and outer portions but beingstepped exteriorly therefrom and defining a shoulder surface opposed tosaid flange, whereby the reduced width of said nose portion isreceivable between said exterior and interior jamb walls and ispositively guided by snug sliding engagement with said interior wallinto engagement with said notched bar, the upper surface of said noseportion being downwardly stepped at a point spaced from the outer endthereof for defining an upwardly facing horizontal lock surface, saidnose terminating in a downwardly and outwardly sloped linear rampextending from said lock surface to the lower wall of said outerportion, the slopes of said ramp surface and said notches being similarto allow said upper notch reaches to cam said nose inwardly when saidclosure member is raised, said ramp being shorter than said notches insaid bar so that said lock surface is extendable partially into saidnotches, said locking surface being snugly and slidably insertablebeneath said shoulder on said bar when said closure member is at itslowermost position with respect to said jamb to lock said closure memberin a closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,818,610 1/1958 Pennelly 49463 X2,965,935 12/1960 Olsen 49-450 2,967,595 1/1961 Zitorner 49450 3,121,9222/1964 Niese 49450 X 2,233,643 3/1941 Schunk 49-45O 3,129,470 4/ 1964Schnieder 4945O DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Examiner.

J. KARL BELL, A. I. BREIER, Assistant Examiners.

1. IN A WINDOW CONSTRUCTION IN WHICH A CLOSURE MEMBER IS DISPOSED FOR SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL SLIDING MOVEMENT; A PAIR OF FIXED UPSTANDING JAMBS ALONG WHICH SAID CLOSURE MEMBER MAY BE MOVED; A SEMICIRCULAR GROOVE CLOSED THROUGH AN ARC OF MORE THAN 180*, SAID GROOVE OPENING INWARDLY OF SAID WINDOW CONSTRUCTION AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY ALONG AT LEAST ONE OF SAID JAMBS; AN ELONGATED BAR OF RIGID PLASTIC HAVING A SEMICIRCULAR BEAD ALONG ONE LONGITUDINAL EDGE WHICH IS SNUGLY DISPOSED IN ONE OF SAID GROOVES FOR MAINTAINING SAID BAR UPRIGHT AND FIXED WITH RESPECT TO SAID JAMB, SAID BAR HAVING A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY V-SHAPED NOTCHES SPACED ALONG THE OTHER LONGITUDINAL EDGE THEREOF, SAID NOTCHES HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL LOWER EDGE AND A DIVERGENTLY SLOPED UPPER EDGE, THE LOWER END OF SAID BAR FORMING A DOWNWARDLY FACING SHOULDER WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY THE DEPTH OF SAID NOTCHES AND DOWNWARDLY PAST WHICH SAID BEAD EXTENDS; MEANS ON SAID CLOSURE MEMBER ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID BAR TO REGULATE MOVEMENT THEREOF, SAID MEANS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE RIGID PLASTIC LATCH MEMBER SUPPORTED ON SAID CLOSURE MEMBER, SAID LATCH MEMBER HAVING A NOSE RESILIENTLY URGED FOR EXTENDING FROM SAID CLOSURE MEMBER TOWARD SAID BAR AND RELEASABLY ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID JAMB TO PREVENT INTERIORWISE MOVEMENT OF SAID CLOSURE MEMBER, SAID NOSE BEING REDUCED IN THICKNESS TRANSVERSELY OF THE PLANE OF SAID CLOSURE MEMBER, THE OUTER END OF SAID NOSE HAVING AN UPWARDLY FACING LOCK SURFACE STEPPED VERTICALLY BELOW THE UPPER FACE OF THE REST OF SAID LATCH MEMBER AND ADPATED FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH AND BENEATH SAID SHOULDER ON SAID BAR TO LOCK THE CLOSURE PANEL IN A CLOSED POSITION SAID LOCK SURFACE BEING CAPABLE OF PARTIALLY ENTERING SAID NOTCHES, THE OUTER END OF SAID NOSE TERMINATING IN THE DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY SLOPED RAMP SHAPED SIMILARLY TO SAID NOTCHES BUT OF LESSER DEPTH RAMP SHAPED FOR ENTRY FULLY THEREINTO WHEREBY SAID RAMP ALLOWS SAID NOTCHES TO CAM SAID LATCH MEMBER OUT OF ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH ON RAISING SAID CLOSURE MEMBER, THE REDUCED HEIGHT OF SAID LOCK SURFACE ALLOWS LOCKING OF SAID LATCH MEMBER AGAINST SAID SHOULDER AND THE UNREDUCED HEIGHT OF THE INNER PORTION OF SAID NOSE PROVIDES GREATER AREA OF CONTACT WITH SAID JAMB FOR RESISTING INTERIORLY DIRECTED FORCES ON THE CLOSURE MEMBER. 